Guaranteed Viable Curriculum (GVC)

Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (GVC) is becoming a common term in the educational community used to refer to a set of critical student skills that a group of educators have identified. In Box Elder School District, we are in the process of identifying these critical skills. We began with the state standards for both English/language arts (ELA) and math. The state standards mandate what will be taught in each subject area for each grade level. These standards are long, detailed, and use academic jargon, so they might be difficult for parents and others outside the profession to understand. They are also too long and there is no practical way that a typical student could ever learn all of them in the time allotted. 

The district sought to take the state standards and simplify them so our stakeholders, parents and students included, could more easily understand and access them. The result was the Box Elder Learning Standards (BELS), available on the district website.

At Garland Elementary, we have created a GVC from the BELS. Garland Elementary's GVC does not replace the BELS, but simply indicates our top priorities as a school. If a skill is part of our GVC, we have determined that it is critical for students to master that skill during their current grade level.  Because these skills are so essential to our students' current and future learning, we are committed to do all we can to ensure that each student will master the GVC in math and ELA for their grade. We will assess our students on the GVC regularly so we can plan and implement intervention efforts that focus specifically on GVC skills. 

The ultimate goal of the GVC is to ensure that each of our students will master critical grade-level skills, regardless of which teacher they have. Our teachers collaborate and support one another in their own grade teams and across grade levels in this effort. By working together, we can determine best teaching practices and intervene to assure that all students successfully master these skills.   

To see the Box Elder School Districy BELS, go to this link:

Box Elder School District B.E.L.S.